Northwest Coach Profiles: Cameron Dollar

The Man Hopes to be Money for SU B-Ball

Last week, coach Cameron Dollar completed Seattle University’s three-year audition in Division I before the team enters the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in the 2012-13 season. The transition game is nothing new for the former University of Washington assistant and one-time UCLA point guard.

Dollar, 36, has experienced a fast break through the coaching ranks. From Irvine to Costa Mesa, Athens to Saint Louis, and the U-District to the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Dollar has transitioned his way to the top of the Division I chain.

He is poised to lead the Redhawks higher after going 39-49 (.443) during his first three seasons as head coach.

Hailing from Atlanta, Cameron Dollar spent four seasons at UCLA (1994-97) under Coach Jim Harrick. In his sophomore season, the team won the NCAA title in Seattle’s Kingdome. In his final two seasons, his teams reached the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. In Dollar’s four years as a Bruin, he averaged 5.0 points and 3.7 assists per game.

Shortly after graduation, at the age of 21, Dollar was named an assistant coach to UC-Irvine’s staff. Dollar left the program at season’s end to be the head coach for the NAIA’s Southern California College Vanguards in Costa Mesa, Calif. Although his team went 11-22 (.333), he had victories over two wins in the NAIA Top 25.

Cameron Dollar - your SU RedHawks Coach

At the conclusion of his first season, Dollar packed his bags and headed for Athens, Georgia. He followed up the season with a three-month part-time gig at the University of Georgia before settling into the Gateway City as an assistant coach at Saint Louis University in 1999.

In Saint Louis, Dollar teamed up coach with Lorenzo Romar, one of his former assistant coaches at UCLA, for a three-year stint at SLU. With Dollar as an assistant coach, the two experienced an immense amount of success. Romar and Dollar went 51-44 (.537) with one NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons. The duo headed to the University of Washington at the conclusion of the 2001-02 season.

The Huskies flourished shortly upon their arrival. After winning 10 games in their first season in 2002-03, the squad went 19-12 and made the NCAA tournament.

The Huskies broke loose for a 29-win season and a Sweet 16 appearance in their third season. They followed that up with a 26-7 record and a second straight Sweet 16.

Overall, the Huskies went 145-81 (.642) in their seven years together before Seattle University athletic director Bill Hogan named Dollar coach prior to the 2009-10 campaign.

In his first season with the independent program, Dollar’s squad went 17-14, highlighted by a 99-48 beatdown in Corvallis, Ore. The 51-point home loss was the worst in Gill Coliseum history. Additionally, the Redhawks prevailed on the road at Utah.

Despite a pair of 11-win seasons in his second and third seasons at the helm, Dollar surely hopes that fans reinvest in the one-time NCAA basketball powerhouse.

The coach believes that with support, the program has what it takes to be successful. As a player and as a coach, Dollar has shown to be a master in the transition game.

The Seattle University faithul hopes that WAC will not be able to slow down the Redhawks starting this November.